


For The Departed

by clockyyy



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angel Corruption, Angels, Angels vs. Demons, Angst, Blood and Violence, Brothers, Character Death, Corruption, Demonic Possession, Demons, Demons Are Assholes, Demons Made Them Do It, Emotional Manipulation, Execution, Gen, Guardian Angels, Guillotine, Hurt No Comfort, Kings & Queens, Murder, Oops, Original Character Death(s), Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Royalty, Stabbing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clockyyy/pseuds/clockyyy
Summary: Elyant has been the protector of the Kingdom of Amesthe for hundreds of years. When the King's sons were born, Elyant swore to themself to keep watch over them as their guardian angel, as they have done since the start of the family's bloodline. A demon named Kayn, however, seems to have other plans.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Kudos: 3





	1. Birthmarks

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading the first chapter. This is my first writing in a very long time, so forgive me for any mistakes. Sorry it's short, but hopefully more chapters will be added to this.

For years, Elyant has watched over the Kingdom of Amesthe. They were there when it was a mere village, there when it developed into a small town, and there when it began to flourish into a strong kingdom. They watched the King and his wife give birth to two beautiful sons, sons that Elyant was there to protect. Beautiful youths with golden locks and skin that the sun had kissed gently. 

Elyant was also there when a subtle darkness began to work into the kingdom and its people. Elyant was there when Kayn arrived. It was almost as if it were a challenge, a tangle to keep the balance of light and dark without letting one overpower the other. 

Kayn had taken a liking to the sons as well. It was brushed off as an imaginary friend that the two boys had made up together, harmless. And so the two went on growing, a year apart from one another. When they were five and six they would spar with cardboard swords, telling tales of myths. The younger, Jude, now had brown hues that creeped into his golden locks as he aged alongside his brother. By the time Jude was seven and his brother was eight, his hair was light brown. His parents had discovered a birthmark behind his ear that wasn't there before. 

Elyant had to watch idly by as Kayn laid the mark on the younger. They were not to interfere directly. They were not to be seen by the boys. Elyant had decided to break that rule after Kayn began to target the other as well. They came in, brushed off as another imaginary friend to the boys. And then they laid a gentle kiss to the top of the older's head. His name was David. After that, Elyant had felt bumps on the top of their head, on either side of their skull. The parents discovered a birthmark behind David's ear, on the opposite side of where Jude's was. 

When the two boys were eighteen and nineteen, they began to drift apart. Their father, the king, had fallen ill. A wedge of responsibility and jealousy drove between the brothers, a question lingering above the two like a dark cloud: Who would inherit the throne?

It was decided that David, the eldest by a mere year, would inherit the throne. He began to throw himself into studies, into maturity, leaving behind his younger brother. David had gagged and bound his carefree personality, instead taking on a colder one, more appropriate for the important position he was to take. Jude was left behind. Kayn took advantage of his newfound isolation. They encouraged the festering jealousy within him, brought the boy’s bubbling anger to the surface whenever possible, causing outbursts at his brother, who responded with more distance. Elyant could only watch the suffering of Jude from afar. They helped David subtly whenever they could. Their actions weren’t as direct as Kayn’s, taking form more as a conscious or a thought lingering in the back of David’s mind. 

And so the boys continued to grow, the distance between the two growing alongside them. The king’s health was deteriorating slowly. He would burst into coughing, a fit of wheezes following after. He would howl out in pain at night and sleep all throughout the day. He became bedridden, and refused to let anyone in his bedroom. He didn’t even show up for his eldest son’s wedding, an arranged marriage that the king made himself. He couldn’t even tell his family his reasoning himself. The servant allowed in his living quarters was the one to tell them that he simply “did not want to be seen as he is.” 

David and Jude didn’t speak until their father’s death five years after he had fallen ill. A brief exchange during the funeral, commenting on their father’s appearance. Hollowed cheeks and sunken eyes, greyed skin. A brief congratulatory conversation during David’s coronation. It was mostly to save face, not wanting to reveal the broken familial relationship that cursed them. Their mother passed not long after. David’s wife, Clarise, took her place. 

Elyant was proud of David from afar. They had watched the boy grow into a fine man, charming and mature, fit for the crown placed upon his head. They were satisfied, having fulfilled their duty of getting him to adulthood safely. They wouldn’t have to be as diligent over him now, as it was rare that any negative spirits or demons would target him now. Now, it was just life and its obstacles that he was to face, things he would mostly have to deal with himself with mild intervention from Elyant. 

Kayn was much closer to Jude. And a bad influence, as they were built to be. They continued to encourage the jealousy and scorn that Jude felt toward his brother, took form as the violent intrusive thoughts he would get, became the dark veil on his once bright soul. They became the unraveling of Jude. The younger brother had had an outburst during a family gathering and had stormed off. He paced back and forth in the dim library, rage bubbling under the surface of his skin. And that was the night that Kayn had manifested as something other than a conscience, a bad thought, the gasoline for the flames in Jude’s soul. Kayn manifested in front of him, real and solid. Jude, taken aback, had jumped back and clapped a hand over his mouth. There stood a forgotten imaginary friend from youth, in front of him. As if reading his thoughts, Kayn spoke, voice smooth and luring, dripping with poisoned ambrosia.

_ “Except I’m not imaginary. But a friend, perhaps.” _

“Who are you?” Jude had asked, voice hushed from fear. He didn’t dare raise his voice at whoever-  _ whatever-  _ this being was. 

_ “Someone who can help.” _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. A Heart Hidden Beneath The Floor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jude claims the throne. Elyant and Kayn have a talk. Amesthe suffers.

David fell ill a month later. A nasty thing, really- rumored to be the same thing his father had. It creeped in slowly at first, a cough or a wheeze being ripped out of him. And then it worsened, like a nasty parasite draining away all of his well being. David didn’t refuse medical care like his father had. Rather, he tried every treatment available. None of them helped. Townsfolk gossiped. _A family curse,_ they had called it. 

A month had passed and David was looking worse than his father had after five years of fighting the illness. His cheeks and sockets were sunken, his hair was greying. He broke out into fits of coughing and wheezing and sputtering that would lead to dribbles of blood dripping down his chin. He wouldn’t eat, and was turning to all skin and bones. 

By October, David was just some cryptid calling itself David. And on the 28th, he was gone. The funeral for the fallen king was more private than the previous one. Jude took the throne and David’s wife remarried, marrying Jude. 

Jude was charming and kind to his royal court and his people. It seemed his mood had improved, as if Kayn’s invisible grasp had released him. He was commended by his people for being one of the best rulers Amesthe has ever had. Peace treaties were signed, allies were made. He even bore three children with his wife. 

Under Jude’s rule, Amesthe was flourishing. All was well, it seemed. But soon things began to change. Townsfolk and their livestock began to go missing. Jude was becoming more reclusive, locking himself away in his study, burying himself in books he’s read ten times over. He distanced himself from his family and his people. He would miss important meetings with allies. He would wander off from he and his wife’s bed in the late hours of the night. A sleepwalking problem. He would have outbursts from time to time, similar to the ones he had when he was younger.

Elyant could see what others could not. They could see Kayn’s tethers on him, could see the demon’s claws dug firmly into him, refusing to let go. They could see Jude struggling against it, unable to break free of the grasp. Jude had tried to break his and Kayn’s deal off, pleading with the beast. He hadn’t thought of the repercussions of the deal. _A deal’s a deal,_ Kayn would say in response, wearing a vicious smile. 

They watched every night as Jude’s body would rise from its slumber, leaving the bed it was laid in. Would watch as Kayn used it to hunt, to evoke fear and drink it up, to sink their claws into the kingdom and kill it slowly, basking in the slowly growing negativity of all the people. And maybe something pulled in Elyant, convinced them to intervene. 

Elyant stood perched on one of the newly built walls of the kingdom. Jude had been greatly influenced by Kayn to start construction of them, to keep everybody in. _For safety,_ they had said. _You never know when your allies will betray you._ Kayn manifested next to Elyant, hanging their legs off of the wall, sitting in a casual position. Elyant didn’t respond to Kayn’s appearance for a while. And then they finally turned, looking down at the demon sitting on the edge, light blue eyes locking on them.

_“Why are you doing this?”_ Elyant finally spoke. Their voice sounded like a chorus, multiple pitches of voices being heard. 

_“It’s fun,”_ Kayn responded, a simple response. Their voice was smooth and somewhat deep, alluring. Perfect for pulling people in.

Elyant couldn’t hold back their anger at the response.

_“That is all? There has to be more! That is no reason to inflict this much pain on these innocent souls- It’s.. It’s too simple!”_ They shouted, something between anger and pleading.

_“Elyant.”_ Elyant had never told the demon their name. Kayn stood slowly, turning to them. They had black scleras and deep red irises, horizontal bars for pupils that looked like a ram’s. _“You are one of the most simple beings I have ever encountered. I don’t think you’re in the right place to say that.”_

Elyant’s lips parted to say something, but they were cut off.

_“You make decisions that you think are your own. You’re just as tethered as everybody else.”_

Elyant wanted to say something, to persist that they could make their own decisions. Instead, silence.

_“You already know that though, don’t you?”_

Something was bubbling under the surface of Elyant’s skin. 

-

Jude was getting worse. He was lashing out more often, slamming his fist against the wall and raising hell at minor inconveniences. He would pick fights with his friends or family. At some point, he and his wife began sleeping in separate beds. His children would avoid him.

Amesthe was not spared from the king’s emotional state. Strict rules fell into place, and the kingdom was beginning to be ruled by an iron fist. The townspeople would gossip, make rumors about the king. _I heard he is going insane! Well I heard he made a deal with the devil. That’s ridiculous._

As time passed, it became clear that the king of Amesthe had become a tyrant. The townsfolk were plotting, turning against him, fighting against the extreme force he was crushing them with. Even parts of the guard and the king’s court were willing to support the townspeople’s plans. Amesthe was crumbling. So was Elyant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Finally got done with chapter 2. I hit a bit of a block. Sorry it's short! Hopefully the final chapter will be a bit longer.


End file.
